This invention relates to a cleaning implement for use in cleaning a floating structure and, in particular, for cleaning the bottom of a small boat.
The speed of a sailing boat or power boat is dependent to a large degree upon the resistance presented by the hull to movement through the water, and the performance of the boat will be severely impaired if considerable amounts of fouling materials, such as weed and slime, are allowed to accumulate on the bottom of the boat below the water line.
In an attempt to counter this problem, it is common practice to coat the bottom of a boat with an anti-fouling preparation. Whilst this may retard the accumulation of fouling material on the boat bottom or facilitate removal of such material, it is still necessary periodically to clean the bottom of the boat so as mechanically to remove accumulated fouling material.
The current practice when cleaning boats to rid the bottom of the boat of accretions of fouling material is to remove the boat from the water and physically scrub and scrape the exposed bottom of the boat. However, this procedure involves removing the boat from the water and can prove expensive if the boat has to be lifted out of the water by a crane, for example because the boat is moored in a non-tidal area. Moreover, the exposure of the fouled bottom of the boat to the atmosphere tends to dry and harden the accumulated material on the hull and makes it difficult to remove. In view of the expense, cleaning tends to be at relatively long intervals of time and, as a result, considerable accumulations of fouling material may be built up, making the eventual task of removing the material even more arduous.